While working remotely can feel like an absolute gift at times – no rush hour traffic, no suits or heels, an easy school pick up and drop off – when your tech isn’t up to speed, it can be a sweat-inducing nightmare (maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. But you get the point!). That’s why work from home tech support is key when it comes to managing tech issues and using the proper software and applications for a successful workday.
As working from home continues to be the trend (that is fast becoming the normal way to work for many), knowing how to get the tech support you need will allow you to work effectively and with less stress.
Work from home technology
Let’s talk about work from home technology. Finding the right tech can allow you to be more productive and stay on top of your game. Here’s some of what you need for a successful remote work environment.
The right PC
If you’ve been given the choice to spend some time during the week working from home, you may find yourself in the position where you need to upgrade your PC to one that allows you to do your work as well as (if not better than!) you do in the office. Your old PC might not cut it.
When you’re working from home and spending your day in front of your computer, you want to make sure it’s functional and feels good. Think about the work that you do. Do you work with data and spreadsheets? Are you a designer? Maybe you write copy. Depending on your job, your PC is going to change. The way keys feel, having a number pad and having a dedicated graphics card are all considerations (amongst others) you need when you’re working from home. Having the right computer is the first big step to a comfortable work from home experience. Do your homework.
A reliable internet connection
This is a given in the remote work environment! If your work from home technology doesn’t include quality, high-speed internet, you may be in for a painful wake-up call when you try to run your first remote team meeting.
But it isn’t just meetings that make reliable internet important. Collaborating with your team, chat groups, project organisation tools and cloud-based systems to share critical documents for your business are all aspects of remote work that allow a business to successfully run from home. If your internet isn’t working properly, you could miss deadlines or leave clients and colleagues in the lurch. Not fun.
Work from home apps and tech tools
We’ve mentioned before the importance of having an arsenal of work from home apps and tech tools. While you don’t want to oversubscribe and underutilise, having a handful of quality options will make your workday much happier.
Google Workspace gives you access to Google Drive, docs, spreadsheets, chat, video, notes, a collaborative whiteboard and more. It’s a simple and easy way to stay connected and organised with your colleagues and you can give it a 14-day test run to see if it works for you before making the commitment.
Asana allows you to create virtual to-do lists and manage projects so your employees (and yourself) can remain on time and on task. Slack is a great option for team communication, allowing you to create multiple groups and channels specific to projects and departments. You can chat, share documents, video call and integrate with a whole slew of other apps and programs for a streamlined workflow.
An app like Toggl Track is excellent if you need to keep track of the hours you’re working from home. But if you’re an employer wanting to easily track the work of your staff, TimeClick may be a good option for you to explore.
Work from home tech support
As good as all of this sounds, it’s absolutely useless if you run into tech issues! What if your internet goes down? What if your PC goes on the fritz? What if all of your files disappear? If you don’t have access to an in-office tech specialist, it’s important you take the time to plan for the worst (and always hope for the best) tech issue to pop up while you’re working from home, just in case.
Of course, you know the Geeks are here for you to help you solve all of your tech problems and we can come straight to your door. From desktop support and software installations to data recovery and cyber security, having a tech support strategy for your remote work environment can help save you from major headaches in the future.
But if technicians knocking on your door seems like too much of a hassle, there are some other great options out there if you’re hoping to have your problem solved remotely.
Using a program like TeamViewer allows IT specialists to remotely access your computer from anywhere in the world. We repeat, this gives people remote access to your ENTIRE computer. So make sure whomever you’re giving access to is legit and knows what they’re doing! SplashTop is another solid remote support solution. Just use them wisely!
Needing tech help is never fun, but if you can plan for it, it makes the time you do need it that little bit less painful.
Need work from home tech support? Let the Geeks help!
With over 420,000 customers across Australia asking for us to help with their computer repairs, we know a thing or two about tech support. If you’re in a bind at home or at the office, just give us a call on 1300 286 847 and we can help get you sorted.
